


After the Storm (Weathering)

by smithy_of_words



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alcohol, Drabble, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Marin Shepard, Post-Thessia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 01:41:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4768793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smithy_of_words/pseuds/smithy_of_words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short one-off fic about Liara comforting Shepard after coming back from Thessia in ME3. Feat. my Marin Shepard in her first (but not last) AO3 appearance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Storm (Weathering)

Marin Shepard sat slumped in a chair looking out on the starboard side of the Normandy into the void.   
She blinked, wet eyes making the stars blur together into a fog of light. 

She barely even registered when Liara entered and sat down beside her.

“EDI said you were here…I understand if you want time. I do, too. We can just sit here, if you’d like.” 

Marin looked up from her glass, eyes puffy and red, but clear now.

Liara slung one arm over the back of her chair, and crossed her legs.

“I thought you didn’t drink…” A question.

Marin smirked, “I don’t.”

She looked down into her now empty glass, ice melting quickly, and sharply threw it against the opposite wall in silence. The shards fell to the floor all the more loudly in the silence.

Liara put a hand on her shoulder, as…she didn’t know what–an act of protection? Guidance? Marin slid down in her seat further, chin resting on her chest now.

“I don’t drink. Marin Shepard…doesn’t drink,” she slurred slightly. “But Marin Shepard also doesn’t lose home worlds. She doesn’t lose to a Cerberus lackey. And she sure as hell realizes when she is walking her people into a trap.”

Liara rubbed her eyes, and held her head in her hands for a bit, thinking. Finally, she straightened up in her chair and spoke.

“Marin Shepard is a great leader. A strong woman who is more dedicated and stubborn than anyone I’ve ever met. And she is human. The best example of humanity I’ve ever seen…certainly the most beautiful…but human nonetheless. And being human means you aren’t perfect. Others will use you, take action in your blind spots, and do incredibly harsh things to take advantage of that imperfection. But we cannot give up. We keep fighting, even against the odds, as overwhelming as they seem now. You embrace the hurt you feel, and turn to your crew–your family–me, to help you through the hard times. And we all move forward together.”

Marin smiled softly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Who taught you to speak like that? You have a motivational speaker in your Broker contacts?”

Liara reached forward, wiping the tears from Marin’s face, and pulling her in for a tight embrace.

“I had a wonderful teacher.”

——-

EDI made sure to tell anyone trying to enter the starboard observatory in the next hour that the door was temporarily malfunctioning. It would be fixed soon.


End file.
